Tag: Industry Destruction

While world leaders were meeting in Paris for climate talks, an ambitious group of indigenous leaders were holding their own meetings in the Amazon Rainforest. Although at this time they are not recognised by the government of Peru, they are fighting to protect their lands by creating a Nation of unity. more…

I just arrived back in Lima after having spent the past 7 weeks on location. The first month was spent in the highlands of the Andes where I filmed interviews with the indigenous people who are struggling to maintain their traditions and culture despite countless global influences. No matter who I spoke to, or where I went, money almost always was the main problem. The Incas were a people who celebrated and honored a system of reciprocity and currency is not part of their heritage. Unfortunately they have been forced into an existance where they must participate in our capitalistic system. They now have electricity in their homes but must pay a fee to the government, their children need uniforms for school and they must pay for transportation. Some members of the community are more successful than others and it has created a divide in what was once a tightly knit family. Others live in utter poverty, succumb to alcholism or spend money on giant TV’s and sattelite dishes while their children go barefoot and hungry.

Education is the key to alleviating many of these problems but influences like climate change (crops no longer grow because of changes in weather conditions), pollution and contamination from mining or industry, and tourism (explotation) contribute to suffering in complicated and devastating ways. Rampant corruption at all levels of government amplify the effects of disparity and poverty. I am hoping not only to point out the problems in my accounts but also to provide suggestions and implement stategies to alleviate these conditons.

I was relieved to move from the highlands, where I suffered from altitude sickness for most of the time, to the lowlands in the Amazon jungle. Peru is home to 1/4 of the worlds natural forests and I thrived in the lush environment. Fresh air and moisture was an almost instant cure. Unfortunately for many, illegal deforestation and mining have proved otherwise. 9 out of 15 fish in Peru have unsafe mercury levels due to contamination from mining activites. Many of the indigenous farms have been destroyed due to poisoned lands or flooding from operations that have been left to ravage the landscape illegally. The indigenous people have held their ground bravely and battled powerful and greedy forces to try and protect the environment but many have lost their lives due to violence, murder or illness from the toxins.

A modern day version of the wild wild west; guns control the area, law enforcement officials are painfully absent, children attending schools when safe to do so, families torn apart, livestock destroyed, crops failing and workers robbed while returning to their homes. I wasn’t able to film in all the areas because I was scared to death and rightfully wise to keep my distance. Many activists have lost their lives attempting to stand their ground. I wept when we found giant trees butchered and left to rot for morsels of choice wood likely bound for Mexico or the US… I swallowed my tears and held a brave face when sharing a river boat with a family that was fleeing their land… my heart is heavy… Peruvian Heartache is a story that begs to be heard.

Have you invested in Gold in recent years? Chances are someone lost their life trying to protect the rainforest it was stripped from. Do you have a new dining room table? Perhaps the wood was stolen from a national reserve in the forest that is responsible for creating more than 20% of the oxygen in the world.

Please help me to finish this important film. I have excellent profiles of the locals, revealing images of the devastation and alarming information about the secrets being concealed in this country struggling to maintain its culture and traditions. I have nearly exhausted my funds and need to find additional resources for a few more weeks of filming and then post production. Luckily I have been blessed with the generosity of many who have contributed both time and resources to help capture this story, but editing is tedious and expensive. I have a burning desire to get this film to the public as quickly as possible so that we can help save both people and protect the health of the lands.

I can also use your help in spreading the word. I need airmiles for travel (for both me and crew) and any other assistance you can offer. I don’t want to beg, but I am! Never have I felt as strongly about shouting a warning to the world as now.

Thanks for your support and well wishes. Can’t wait to share this amazing story with you all.

When I started planning this documentary back in April, I had a pretty good idea of the story I wanted to tell. I knew that there was a recurring theme around the world and I decided to film people who were attempting to live sustainable alternative lifestyles. It seems there’s been an awakening of sorts… people are beginning to realize that we can no longer sustain ourselves and keep our planet healthy by continuing to use methods employed in the past half a century.

Dark Days Ahead

I thought about the indigenous people in Canada, in North America, and partially credited them with preserving what little pristine land we had left. There could likely have been pipelines running all over the continent if not for their actions, (along with activists and concerned citizens) to halt the agressive devastation caused by the so called, industrial powerhouses. I was certain that many of those First Nations were living below the poverty level and I imagined the same was true all over the world.

But does not having money really make you poor?

After spending nearly a month in Peru I have discovered that the indigenous peoples are just as impovershed, just as disadvantaged but just as fierce in their efforts to maintain their traditions and return to the ancient ways. Sure, they have electricity, and many have cell phones, but they have recognized that we need to respect and protect mother earth or we’re all headed down a very dark path.

I have listened to their stories and heard their call for help. Now it’s my duty to share that information with the world. I have been forced to change course and subject matter for the film, just was we need to change the way we live.

One of the things that has been knawing away at me since my arrival in Peru is the amount of plastic being used. Plactic bags, bottles, dishes… it seems in direct contradiction to their goals to achieve a healthier planet. High atop the mountains are piles of garbage displaying a rainbow of plastic… blue, green, yellow and if you look closely you can see the clear bottles which somehow missed the recycling pile.

Kudos to the city of San Francisco for becoming the first city in America to ban the sale and use of single serving plastic bottles! There are bans in some national parks aready and also at some Universities, but this is the first US city to make such a move.

Rowanda banned plastic bags in 2012 and is now one of the cleanest countries in Africa. Banning plastic bags and bottles is a small step, but it’s definately going in the right direction.

Plastic is killing us, and the earth!

United Nations News Centre – image credit

Please consider buying a refillable water bottle and using cloth shopping sacs and alternatives like mason jars for storing foods. We managed for thousands of years without the use of plastic, we can manage again.

Yieber and Alison are hard at work planning, writing and scheduling the filming of the Indigenous Peoples of Peru. With external influences like tourism and big business they face many internal challenges. Environmental destruction, climate change, limited financial support and lack of appropriate resources all contribute to the hardships these people endure daily. We hope to bring you their stories while providing some solutions and help along the way.